dodgypete Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 I've been lurking around here for a while now, so I thought I better start a thread on my Mini. I've got a heap of photos but they won't load properly. I've uploaded them to iforce.co.nz and followed the instructions in //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/34643-how-to-add-pictures-to-the-forum/ If I put my image link in between the img tags they keep changing when I click preview and I get this message: You are not allowed to use that image extension on this community Help? Someone? Discussion: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/53286-dodgypetes-1980-mini-1275gt-discussion/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebeasts Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 try photobucket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 Thanks, Photobucket worked.... I ended up buying this 1980 1275 GT with a 'rebuilt engine and gearbox' among other things. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 Well, the engine lasted about a week before smoke started pouring out of the rocker cover. After a compression test it looked like the rings were gone on cylinder no. 2. I pulled the engine and took it apart to confirm my suspicions. Sure enough, both compression rings were broken, and there was a nasty corrosion mark in the cylinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 I took it into what turned out to be the most expensive engine reconditioner in town. After the price estimates kept getting higher, I told them just to do the machining, and decided to have a go at rebuilding it myself. This was pretty daunting for me since I hadn't (and still haven't) replaced a wheel bearing or ball joint etc. Might as well start with the hardest job! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 Being a complete noob I made a couple of mistakes, but got there in the end. I wondered if the corrosion mark in the bore was because it had blown a head gasket at some point, and been left with water sitting in it? It is now 1310cc (had to go up a size to get rid of the corrosion) It ended up needing a replacement crank - had a huge crack in it. I got the cam reground to a Kent MD266 profile. This is what happens when you try to flip the gearbox over by yourself to bolt it onto the block, and drop it on your arm: I fitted a lightened double row timing chain and checked the cam timing. It was retarded by 7 degrees! Ended up fitting an offset woodruff to get it right: 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 I took ages building the engine and getting it back in the car. In the meantime I did some work on the interior. I removed the shitty centre console with gauges you had to lie down to see: I removed the shitty tread plate parcel tray. Why do people do this??!?? I couldn't even give it away in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 Then I removed the shitty seats. The front seats had some pretty dodgy frames under them..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 I made a new parcel tray - partly to cover the huge holes that had been hacked through the metal. Made a cardboard template and after a bit of trial and error I got the shape right. Also picked up a black(ish) vinyl rear seat and some new seat belts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 The drivers door card was stuffed so I made 2 new ones. I cut off the pocket and carpet thingy with a razor blade then sprayed them black with vinyl paint. I was pretty keen to get rid of all the tan coloured vinyl, so I sprayed the rear cards as well, then ended up painting the rear seat - so the was one less shade of black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Pulled back the carpet to check the floor for rust. Tidied it up a bit then sprayed on some rust convertor. My original plan with the front seats was to try and mounted them properly. I bought some seat frames designed for cobra seats, but they just weren't suitable for the mazda seats. At that point I decided to continue shoveling money into a hole and bought some cobra seats. The frames sat really high so I cut the brackets at the front down and the legs at the back. I also modified the brackets that bolt to the cross member. Discussion: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/53286-dodgypetes-1980-mini-1275gt-discussion/ 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dodgypete Posted June 30, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 30, 2016 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 The cylinder head needed new valve seats, guides, etc, so I decided to put it on the shelf and buy a ported big valve head. The rockers were pretty worn, so I also picked up some 1.5:1 roller tip rockers. The head sat around for about a year and a half before I fitted it. I had been grinding near the head (came wrapped in plastic) but it turned out the bag had a hole it, so the head ended up full of metal filings. When I finally noticed, I stripped it apart and gave it a good clean. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 The exhaust was already 1 3/4" with a single RC40 muffler. I changed the extractors from 3-1 to LCB. Chucked in a light weight steel flywheel, heavy duty clutch plate and spring. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dodgypete Posted July 19, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 19, 2016 Last winter I finally got the engine back together. I chucked a heater in the garage and got started prepping and painting the engine. The gearbox was worst because the paint was flaking off and it took ages to remove it. Did the whole lot with spray cans but it turned out pretty good. Plugging all the holes with silicone seemed like a good idea at the time, but was a nightmare to remove. What do you guys use to plug the holes? //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/53286-dodgypetes-1980-mini-1275gt-discussion/ Finally found a use for the old seatbelts. .....and ready to go back in the hole! 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted July 26, 2016 Author Share Posted July 26, 2016 Late last year I finally got the engine back in the hole. I installed new engine mounts which made it pretty tight. It took a lot of levering and someone sitting on the engine to finally get the bolts in. Cranked it over to get oil pressure, reconnected the plugs and it fired straight up. A low quality sideways video as proof: http://vid1116.photobucket.com/albums/k569/dodgy-pete/Mini2.mp4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 After I got the engine running I realised that the twin carbs weren't very happy. I tried tuning and balancing them but it wasn't happening, so I took them apart to discover they had different needles. The throttle shafts and bushes were also badly worn and leaking. I decided to rebuild a HIF44 I picked up for $5. Picked up a rebuild kit, alloy manifold and K&N filter and got to work. I tried boiling all the crap off in simple green but it didn't really help. I eventually got it off with a lot of scrubbing Finally got it back together with new seals etc and a needle I guesstimated from similar spec engines Ended up having to reshape the alloy spacer block between the carb and manifold because the float bowl was hitting the firewall. Initially it ran like crap but I eventually got it running really well with a bit of tinkering. There was still a hesitation on acceleration so I played around with different grade oils in the dashpot. I replaced the damper with a different type which ultimately fixed the problem. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 The next problem I had was the cheap Auto Gauge temp gauge not reading correctly. I probably spent waaaay too much time trying to get this right. I did a lot of testing in a pot of water with a thermometer at different temperatures. The sender was definitely a bit dodgy (wasn't changing linearly with temp) so I replaced it and then used a few resistors to calibrate everything. This photo was when I started and the gauge was reading approx 10 degrees lower than it should. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgypete Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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